This is actually an interesting demographic observation that even though the age pyramid might start being askew and looking like, well, like the Japanese age demographic, it doesn’t necessarily reflect total purchasing power of the community, which may even increase as students are replaced with working adults with stable incomes and entice new entrepreneurs to enter into the field.
Doesn’t mean that’ll happen, but a similar phenomenon may explain some things. For example in my country despite the enormous streaming numbers, rappers don’t do shows often: their younger public simply can’t afford to attend them, and double dipping the same town on a regular basis is completely out of the picture.
Bickering here is probably more a sign of success than the opposite and in the end what happens here shows not much about the domestic scene.
People claim to this day that GazettE’s Tokyo Dome concert was a flop. And it’s still bullshit. Ahhhhh
I am still writing my report about the Masked festival, so I don’t wanna say too much but it was sold out and there will be more events. There was definitivly much planning behind it and I am pretty sure, it was Kizu’s initiative. Honestly, a lot of things said here are surely true but I think things like this are a sign that even in the domestic scene there is something happening. I never heared the words “visual kei” as often in one day before. They wouldn’t shut up about how much vk means to them.
This whole thread made me think of the the Sugar thread again. Y’all want new bands and fresh blood but seem to exspect to be the next Dir en grey from everyone, immidiatly. That’s not how this works. Y’all sure have looked up a band on vk.gy… and did you noticed there is nearly no band member that hasn’t been in a diffrent band before?
Nobody grabs a microphone an is suddely Kyo. Bandmembers and music need to evole and grow. Maybe they are not there yet but I still think more bands could need support here instead of critic that sounds like they can’t win no matter what they do…
Kind of, but not quite - MASKED was produced by Goemon, aka Yuui (ex-CindyKate), the boss of Goemon Records / ANIMA, the label behind Arlequin. He’s also the producer of Kizu. (That’s why Arlequin was the finishing act at MASKED even though they aren’t the most popular band in the lineup)
I’m surprised that Goemon managed to pull off such a big event though, I thought Goemon Records went down the drain after Pentagon and Poidol disbanded and they were left with nothing but Arlequin lol. He’s been talking about reviving the vkei boom since covid hit (he appeared on tv and talked about it too) and looks like this is how he’s going to do it.
I’m just looking for an interesting or distinct band that I like.
Maybe it’s a by product of not liking dir en grey and I’m the exception. But since I’ve been listening to visual kei for decades despite its downfall I don’t think I have ever wanted that inmediately lol
No way, lol. I’m more into new bands that echo AWOI, early Plastic Tree (those raw 1st/2nd eras), RENTRER EN SOI, ClearVeil, UnsraW, old Sugar and so on…
Lime from Kizu, for example is a new light, something fresh cutting through the noise.
The vk world is still great without or with dir/der/das en gruy and the Gazetta as references. Because it makes no sense to drink from a source that has already been consolidated and saturated (we see the use of AI in dir en grey). Even though I know that their fans will come here to defend them
J-Music as a whole is starting to get serious traction overseas with big jpop artists starting to tour now. Ill consider V-Kei back when I see a band like Kizu tour with Motionless in White or similar bands in the US
I didn’t meant that people want a band that sounds like Dir en grey. I meant people want them to be successful and ground breaking as soon after their debut as dir en grey were. Because Diru rose to fame fast but there was also a history that lead to that point. And it seem like people forgot that and exspect the same thing from new bands.
He absolutely is! And still we had the discussion here that Kizu songs all sound the same, already. Exactly what I was talking about. Kizu is the new star and they do have a new sound but still I see more critic here than celebrating them.
I think I said that in the hot takes thread before but a little bit more excitement would be so nice.
"Vk is dying, vk is dying… " yeah with that attitude it will.
Maybe tell people how great your favorite band is and not why they suck.
It has always been like this, every popular band gets tons of criticism. I think it’s inevitable And I’ve heard people say that “songs all sound the same” about literally every band, but in Kizu’s case it really surprises me.
But I’ve realized that people hear music very differently. I personally focus on composition itself first, while a lot of people pay more attention to arrangement, overall production, or even just a specific instrument. That’s why it can be so hard for people to understand each other sometimes.
Of course, Budokan wasn’t a flop for Kizu at all, but they could’ve done better, and they themselves expected it. That’s why they sold out the arena without reducing the number of seats to make the stands look fuller, like DEZERT did. Still, both bands had similarly filled stands.
Financially, I’m sure it went well for them (the VIP tickets alone probably covered the venue cost), the DVD also sold well. So I’m pretty confident they’ll try Budokan again.
Why does no one mention -sks-zigzag? They might be the ones who could manage Tokyo Dome.
I tend to forget about them, probably because the sound and aesthetic makes me think of rock that’s popular in Japan in general instead of vk, even though that’s right –– they’re by far the biggest “new” vk-adjecent thing going. Someone else might be able to comment on if their popularity has any kind of effect on the general interest towards vk in Japan.
My comment regarding Kizu a few posts above wasn’t my attempt to discredit them, but rather point out this general feeling of defeatism and just how few have any business being there now. Lest we forget, there were plenty of guys in their early 20s playing at the Budokan in the latter end of the 2000s when vk was already way past its mainstream heyday; like I think at one point it was concurrently played by Sug, Alice Nine, The Gazette, ViViD and that’s just the ones that came to mind where not one member was over 30. Today, I believe the total number of bands formed after 2010 who have been there is what, 3? and I think everyone except some members of Kizu were over 30 when they got there. This doesn’t mean that vk is dead –– it’s just the slowing down the ripple effect of the huge mainstream popularity it experienced in the 1990s –– but it isn’t “back” either.
First off, exactly what Dispo said.
And second off, Zigzag got that mix with mainstream going on through their vocalist being a member of WANDS, so in Japan I am sure that helps their popularity.
Another thing I noticed is, -sks-zigzag seem to be popular with moms too, mom’s who share the music then with their kids. Which theoretically might grow a new generation of VK fans. But theoretically.
How far they have any influence in the VK scene, I can’t tell either unfortunately.
I don’t really see them as real visual kei either, but since that’s how they call themselves…
And yeah, ever since a huge part of their audience came over from Wands, their music got a lot closer to regular pop rock, so I don’t think most of their audience cares much about vk.
and in the end what happens here shows not much about the domestic scene.
And I’ve heard people say that “songs all sound the same” about literally every band, but in Kizu’s case it really surprises me.